This means that they will receive revised recommendations, which may include a new timeline to address the excessive deficit.
For a euro area Member State, the stepping up of the EDP may result also in the imposition or strengthening of sanctions in the form of a fine of 0.2% of GDP, while all countries in receipt of assistance from the European Structural and investment Funds (ESIF) may face a temporary suspension of this financing.
With continued non-compliance, the fine for euro area Member States may be increased to include a variable component and imposed annually as long as the country in question continues to fail to take effective action. Since the 2011 reforms, reverse qualified majority voting (RQMV) – whereby a qualified majority of Member States is needed to reject a Commission proposal for a Council decision – is used for the imposition of most sanctions.
The EDP is abrogated when the excessive deficit is corrected in a durable manner and at this moment non-interest bearing deposits are returned to the Member States.